Moldova parliament forms new government

Jan 14, 2011, 17:44 GMT

Chisinau/Kiev/Brussels - Moldova's parliament on Friday approved a pro-Europe cabinet, ending a month of coalition talks, the Infotag news agency reported.

Vlad Filat, head of the Liberal Democrat party, will continue to serve as prime minister, a job he held during the previous government, according to the report.

The previous government resigned in November after parliamentary elections, with no party or ruling coalition the clear victor.

Moldova's political system since then has been stalled as three small pro-Europe parties jockeyed to form a frail alliance, while the larger Communist party attempted to entice one of the pro-Europe parties to desert its allies.

The new cabinet contains ministers only from the three pro-Europe parties, and its makeup was practically unchanged from the previous one, according to the report.

'I have managed something in this life, because I have believed in myself,' Filat said at an oath-taking ceremony. 'We have a great deal of work ahead of us, but I believe we can manage it.'

Moldova has been locked in a constitutional crisis for almost two years because no political alliance, neither Communist-led nor pro- Europe, has been able to amass 61 votes in the 101-seat national legislature needed to elect a president.

The stand off has left Moldova's government unable to conduct much business, as a president is needed to sign laws into effect.

The present ruling coalition, headed by Filat, controls 59 votes in parliament, two short of the minimum needed to make long-stalled legislation law.

Filat rejected predictions already widely prevalent in Moldovan media the present government will do no better than the previous one.

'We are simply obliged to succeed this time,' Filat said. 'We have no other choice.'

The reaction of EU officials was similarly optimistic.

'We are confident that the new government will continue to build on the substantial progress achieved in EU-Moldova relations,' said High Representative Catherine Ashton and Commissioner Stefan Fule in a joint statement.

'We hope that all political forces represented in the parliament of the Republic of Moldova will engage further in open and constructive dialogue,' said the statement.

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